CN110515876A - Switch cards, processors and storage systems - Google Patents

Abstract

The switch card, processor and storage system provided by the present application include at least one processor, at least one switch card and multiple storage devices. The switching card is connected to the storage device through the first transmission interface of the switching card, and the processor is connected to the second transmission interface of the switching card through a connection line. If the number of storage devices required by the customer is small, the processor can be connected to a single switch card through a cable to make the storage system meet the needs of the customer; if the number of storage devices (such as hard drives) required by the customer is large, the processor Through multiple connection lines and multiple switch cards, the combination of multiple switch cards enables the storage system to support a large number of storage devices, which solves the problem that manufacturers need to develop different independent storage systems according to different numbers of storage devices. The problem of high development cost.

Description

Switch cards, processors and storage systems

technical field

The present application relates to the technical field of storage, and in particular to a switch card, a processor and a storage system.

Background technique

With the increase in the amount of enterprise business data, the application of data storage systems is also widely used. Because different enterprises have different requirements for data storage systems, most manufacturers will develop various types of independent data storage systems to meet different requirements. business needs. For example, company A needs a storage system with 12 hard disks, and company B needs a storage system with 20 hard disks. Manufacturers develop a storage system with 12 hard disks and a storage system with 20 hard disks respectively.

Since the product structures of storage systems with different numbers of hard disks are different, manufacturers need to invest a large amount of research and development funds to develop the structures of storage systems with different numbers of hard disks, thereby increasing the development costs of manufacturers.

application content

In order to achieve the above object, the application provides the following technical solutions:

A storage system, comprising: at least one processor, at least one switch card, and multiple storage devices;

Each of the switch cards includes at least a first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, and each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect to a storage device;

Each of the processors is connected to at least one second transmission interface of the at least one switch card through a connection line, and the processors perform data transmission with the storage device through the at least one switch card.

In the above system, optionally, the first transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the storage device through a connection cable.

The above system, optionally, also includes a backplane;

The backplane includes multiple switch card interfaces and multiple storage device interfaces, each of the switch card interfaces is used to access a switch card, and each of the storage device interfaces is used to access a storage device;

The first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the backplane is connected to the storage device interface of the backplane, and the first transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the storage device through the storage device interface of the backplane .

In the above system, optionally, if the storage system includes at least two processors, at least some of the at least two processors are connected to the same number of switch cards, and the number of switch cards connected to one processor is A switch card connected to another processor shares storage.

In the above system, optionally, different types of the switch cards have different numbers of first transmission interfaces.

In the above system, optionally, if the storage system includes at least two switch cards, any two switch cards in the at least two switch cards are connected through a connection line.

A switch card, the switch card includes at least one first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect a storage device; each second transmission interface of the switch card The transmission interface is connected to the processor through a connection line, wherein the processor is used for data transmission with the storage device.

For the above switch card, optionally, the switch card is connected to another switch card through a connection line.

A processor, the processor includes a transmission interface, the processor is connected to a switching card through a connection line matching the transmission interface, and the processor performs data transmission with a storage device through the switching card, wherein, The switch card is connected to the storage device.

The switch card, processor and storage system provided by the present application include at least one processor, at least one switch card and multiple storage devices. The switching card is connected to the storage device through the first transmission interface of the switching card, and the processor is connected to the second transmission interface of the switching card through a connection line. If the number of storage devices required by the customer is small, the processor can be connected to a single switch card through a cable to make the storage system meet the needs of the customer. If the number of storage devices (such as hard drives) required by the customer is large, the processor Through multiple connection lines and multiple switch cards, the combination of multiple switch cards enables the storage system to support a large number of storage devices, which solves the problem that manufacturers need to develop different independent storage systems according to different numbers of storage devices. The problem of high development cost.

Description of drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings that need to be used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the accompanying drawings in the following description are only These are some embodiments of the present application. Those skilled in the art can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without creative work.

FIG. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching card provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a processor provided in an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application;

FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

Detailed ways

The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the application with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the application. Apparently, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by persons of ordinary skill in the art without making creative efforts belong to the scope of protection of this application.

In this application, the switch card can be a SAS, SATA or PCIE type switch card, the processor can be a CPU or other devices with data processing functions, and the storage medium device can be a U disk, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory or a random access A device such as a memory disk that can store data.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a switching card provided by the embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 1, the switching card includes three first transmission interfaces (first transmission interface 101 to first transmission interface 103) and two second transmission interfaces Transmission interfaces (the second transmission interface 104 and the second transmission interface 105). Each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect to the storage device, each second transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the processor through a connection line, and the processor is used to perform data transmission with the storage device.

The number of first transmission interfaces of the switch card is the same as the number of storage devices connectable to the switch card. For example, if the switch card includes three first transmission interfaces, the number of storage devices connectable to the switch card is three. The switch card is connected to the processor through the second transmission interface, wherein the more the number of second transmission interfaces connected to the processor, the larger the data transmission bandwidth between the switch card and the processor.

The connection line connected with the second transmission interface of the switching card can be a pluggable connection line, and the second transmission interface of the switching card is an interface matched with the pluggable connection line, so that the pluggable connection line can be connected to the switch card. In the second transmission interface, for example, a cable (cable television cable) connection line may be used as the connection line.

The first transmission interface and the second transmission interface of the switch card may be interfaces with the same structure. That is, the first transmission interface of the switch card is an interface that matches the pluggable connection line. If the first transmission interface is an interface that matches the pluggable connection line, the first transmission interface of the switch card can Connect with storage device.

When there are at least two switch cards, the switch card can be connected to another switch card through a connection line, wherein, an implementation manner of connecting the switch card to another switch card through a connection line can be: the second transmission interface of the switch card It is connected to the second transmission interface of another switching card through a connecting line. When two switch cards are connected by a connection line, the two switch cards share a data transmission bandwidth, which is applicable to the case where the switch card has a small requirement for data transmission bandwidth.

It should be noted that the structural diagram of the switch card shown in Figure 1 is only an example of one structure of the switch card, the number of the first transmission interface of the switch card includes but not limited to three, the number of the second transmission interface of the switch card Including but not limited to two, in the present application, the switch card may include at least one first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, and the number of the first transmission interface and the second transmission interface of the switch card can be set according to requirements.

In the embodiment provided by this application, the switch card includes at least one first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect to a storage device, and each second transmission interface of the switch card is connected to The switch card provided by this application can connect the switch card with multiple storage devices by setting a plurality of first transmission interfaces, and at the same time, through the second transmission interface, the switch card and the processor can be connected through Compared with the existing hardware connection between the switch card and the processor, the connection between the switch card and the processor not only avoids the high manufacturing cost caused by the hardware connection, but also It also avoids the problem of design cost caused by designing hardware connectors with different structures for different types of switching cards.

Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a processor provided by the embodiment of the present application. As shown in Fig. 2, the processor includes a transmission interface 201, and the processor is connected to the switch card through a connection line matching the transmission interface 201, and the processor is connected to the switch card through the switch The card and the storage device perform data transmission, wherein the switching card is connected with the storage device.

The transmission interface 201 of the processor can be connected with at least one connection line, and the connection line connected with the transmission interface 201 of the processor can be a pluggable connection line, and the pluggable connection line matches the transmission interface 201 of the processor, that is, pluggable The end of the connecting cable can be connected to the transmission interface 201 of the processor.

When the transmission interface 201 of the processor is connected to multiple connection lines, the processor can be connected to multiple switch cards through the multiple connection lines, wherein the switch card and the processor can be connected through at least one connection line. Because the switch card is connected to the storage device, the processor can implement data transmission with the storage device by connecting the switch card. When the switch card is connected to multiple storage devices, the processor can connect all the storage devices with the switch card for data transmission.

The processor provided in this embodiment includes a transmission interface, and the processor is connected to the switch card through a connection line that matches the transmission interface. Compared with the existing hardware connection between the switch card and the processor, it avoids the use of hardware The problem of high manufacturing cost caused by the connection also avoids the problem of design cost caused by designing different types of switch cards and hardware connectors with different structures. At the same time, the processor is connected to the switch card through a connection line that matches the transmission interface, so that the processor can be connected to multiple connection lines through the transmission interface to realize the connection with multiple switch cards, thereby greatly increasing the storage capacity for data transmission with the processor. the number of devices.

FIG. 3 is a schematic structural diagram of a storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

The storage system includes a processor 301 , three switch cards (switch card 302 - switch card 304 ), and multiple storage devices (storage device 305 - storage device 313 ). Each switch card includes at least a first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, and each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect to a storage device. The processor is connected to at least one second transmission interface of the switching card through a connection line, and the processor performs data transmission with the storage device through the switching card.

The storage system including one processor provided in this embodiment can be applied to a common server (that is, a non-storage server).

The switch cards in the storage system may be different types of switch cards, that is, the number of first transmission interfaces of the switch cards may be different. As shown in FIG. 3 , each first transmission interface of the switch card may be connected to the storage device through a connection line, wherein the connection line may be a pluggable connection line.

In the case that the switch card includes a plurality of second transmission interfaces, the processor can be connected to at least one second transmission interface of the switch card through a connection line, and the more the number of second transmission interfaces connected to the processor, the more the switch card and the processing The data transmission bandwidth between devices is larger.

When the storage system includes multiple switch cards, the processor can be connected to the multiple switch cards through the transmission interface by connecting multiple connection lines. Wherein, the processor and any switching card may be connected through one connection, or may be connected through multiple connection lines. The processor is connected to the switch card, so that the processor can perform data transmission with the storage device through the switch card, that is, the processor can write data into the storage device, or the storage device can upload data to the processor. The more switch cards connected to the processor, the more storage devices the storage system can support.

When the storage system includes multiple switch cards, the switch card can be connected to another switch card through a connection cable for the scenario where the storage device has low data transmission bandwidth requirements. For example, the second transmission interface of the switch card is connected to another switch card through a connection cable. A switch card is connected to the second transmission interface. When a plurality of switch cards are connected by connecting wires, at least one switch card among the plurality of switch cards is connected to the switch, and all the connected switch cards share the data transmission bandwidth with the switch cards connected to the switch.

For the storage system in Figure 3, when it is necessary to upgrade the storage system, that is, increase the number of storage devices in the storage system, the implementation method may be: replace the switch card in the storage system with a switch card with a larger number of first transmission interfaces. Card or add a switch card, and connect the switch card to the processor through a cable, so that the storage system can support a larger number of storage devices. When an existing server needs to add a storage device, an additional entire storage system needs to be added to achieve the purpose of adding a storage device. However, in the storage system provided by this embodiment, when a storage device needs to be added, only the exchange in the storage system needs to be replaced. Cards or new switching cards, thereby reducing the cost of upgrades and ultimately improving the competitiveness of manufacturers.

At the same time, when the processor or switching card fails, there is no need to replace the entire storage system, because the processor and the switching card, as well as between the switching card and the storage device can be connected by pluggable cables, so only the faulty one needs to be removed It is enough to replace the original processor or switch card with a new processor or switch card, which reduces the maintenance cost of the storage system.

It should be noted that the schematic structural diagram of the storage system shown in FIG. 3 is only an example of a storage system structure, and the number of switch cards connected to the storage system includes but is not limited to three. The storage system provided by this application and the processing The number of switching cards connected to the switch is at least one, and the number of switching cards can be set according to requirements, wherein. Each switch card is connected to the processor through the second transmission interface of the switch card, and connected to the storage device through the first transmission interface of the switch card.

In the storage system provided by the present application, the switch card is connected to the storage device through the first transmission interface of the switch card, and the processor is connected to the second transmission interface of the switch card through a connection line. If the number of storage devices required by the customer is small, the processor can be connected to a single switch card through a cable to make the storage system meet the needs of the customer; if the number of storage devices required by the customer is large, the processor can be connected through multiple The cable is connected to multiple switching cards, so that multiple switching cards can be combined to realize that the storage system can support a large number of storage devices, which solves the development cost caused by manufacturers needing to develop different independent storage systems according to different numbers of storage devices high question.

FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application.

The storage system includes two processors (processor 401 and processor 402 ), four switch cards (switch card 403 - switch card 406 ), and multiple storage devices (storage device 407 - storage device 412 ). Each switch card includes at least a first transmission interface and at least one second transmission interface, and each first transmission interface of the switch card is used to connect to a storage device. The processor is connected to at least one second transmission interface of the switching card through a connection line, and the processor performs data transmission with the storage device through the switching card.

The storage system including two processors provided in this embodiment can be applied to a storage server. The number of switch cards connected to the two processors is the same, as shown in FIG. 4 , each processor is connected to two switch cards respectively. The processor and the switch card can be connected through one connection line, or can be connected through multiple connection lines. In the storage system, the switch card connected to the processor shares the storage device with the switch card connected to another processor. The way the two switch cards share the storage device is shown in Figure 4. The switch card 403 and the leftmost first transmission interface pass through The storage device 407 is connected to the rightmost transmission interface of the switch card 406 , so that the switch card 403 and the switch card 406 share the storage device 407 . Wherein, the first transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the storage device by using a connecting line.

For a storage system with two processors, the switch card connected to the processor shares the storage device with the switch card connected to the other processor, which is equivalent to sharing the storage device between the two processors. Therefore, one of the two processors The processor is a redundant processor of another processor. In such a storage system, two processors can be connected to the same storage device, which greatly improves the data transmission bandwidth between storage devices.

As described in the foregoing embodiments, when the storage system includes multiple switch cards, the processor can be connected to at least one second transmission interface of the multiple switch cards through multiple connection lines, and the processor is connected to the switch cards to make the processor Data transmission can be carried out through switching cards and storage devices. The more switch cards connected to the processor, the more storage devices the storage system can support.

It should be noted that the schematic structural diagram of the storage system shown in FIG. 4 is only an example of a storage system structure, and the number of switch cards connected to the storage system includes but is not limited to two. The storage system provided by this application and the processing The number of switch cards connected to the switch is at least one, and the number of switch cards can be set according to requirements.

In the storage system provided in this embodiment, the switch card is connected to the storage device through the first transmission interface of the switch card, and the processor is connected to the second transmission interface of the switch card through a connection line. The processor can be connected to a single switch card through a connection line or to multiple switch cards through multiple connection lines, so that the storage system can support different numbers of storage devices, which solves the problem that manufacturers need to develop different independent storage devices according to different numbers of storage devices. The problem of high development cost caused by the storage system.

In the storage system shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 , the switch card and the storage device are connected by connecting wires, and another connection mode between the switch card and the storage device may be a backplane connection.

With reference to FIG. 3 , FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 5 is a storage system obtained by using a backplane connection between the switch card and the storage device for the storage system shown in FIG. 3 .

The storage system includes a processor 501, three switch cards (switch card 502 to switch card 504), a backplane 505, and multiple storage devices (storage device 506 to storage device 514).

The backplane includes multiple switch card interfaces and multiple storage device interfaces, each switch card interface is used to access a switch card, and each storage device interface is used to access a storage device. The first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the backplane is connected to the storage device interface of the backplane, and the first transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the storage device through the storage device interface of the backplane.

For the storage system where the switch card and the storage device are connected by the backplane, when the storage system needs to be upgraded, the newly added switch card can be connected to the spare switch card interface on the backplane, or the original switch The card is replaced with a switching card with more first transmission interfaces, so that the storage system can support a larger number of storage devices.

The switch card and the storage device are connected by the backplane. The backplane is equipped with multiple switch card interfaces, so that the backplane can support multiple switch cards at the same time. The first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the backplane is connected to the The storage device interfaces are connected in one-to-one correspondence, so that the switch card can be connected to the storage device through the backplane.

With reference to FIG. 4 , FIG. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of another storage system provided by an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is a storage system obtained by using a backplane connection between the switch card and the storage device for the storage system shown in FIG. 4 .

The storage system includes two processors (processor 601 and processor 602 ), four switch cards (switch card 603 - switch card 606 ), a backplane 607 and multiple storage devices (storage device 608 - storage device 613 ).

As described in the foregoing implementation, the backplane includes multiple switch card interfaces and multiple storage device interfaces, each switch card interface is used to access a switch card, and each storage device interface is used to access a storage device. The first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the backplane is connected to the storage device interface of the backplane, and the first transmission interface of the switch card is connected to the storage device through the storage device interface of the backplane.

In the storage system shown in Figure 6, the first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the processor 601 and the first transmission interface of the switch card connected to the processor 602 are connected to the storage device interface of the same backplane, so as to realize two switch cards Shared storage. For example, in FIG. 6, the leftmost first transmission interface of the switch card 603 and the leftmost first transmission interface of the switch card 605 are connected to the leftmost storage device interface on the backplane, and the switch card 603 and the switch card 605 The storage device 609 is shared through the leftmost storage device interface on the rear panel.

In the storage system shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 , the backplane is provided with multiple switch card interfaces and multiple storage device interfaces, the switch card interfaces are used to connect to the switch cards, and the storage device interfaces are used to connect to the storage devices. The switch card is connected to the storage device through the backplane, which makes the connection stronger and easier to manage.

Each embodiment in this specification is described in a progressive manner, each embodiment focuses on the difference from other embodiments, and the same or similar parts of each embodiment can be referred to each other.

In this application, the term "comprises", "comprises" or any other variation thereof is intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion such that a process, method, article, or apparatus comprising a set of elements includes not only those elements, but also includes none. other elements specifically listed, or also include elements inherent in such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the process, method, article or apparatus comprising said element.

The above description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims (9)

1. a kind of storage system characterized by comprising at least one processor, at least one switching card and multiple storages Equipment；

Each switching card includes at least the first coffret and at least one second coffret, each of described switching card First coffret is for connecting storage equipment；

Each processor is connect by connecting line at least one second coffret of at least one switching card, institute It states processor and is carried out data transmission by least one described switching card with the storage equipment.

2. system according to claim 1, which is characterized in that the first coffret of switching card passes through connecting line and storage Equipment connection.

3. system according to claim 1, which is characterized in that further include backboard；

The backboard includes multiple exchange card interfaces and multiple storage device interfaces, and each exchange card interface is for accessing Switching card, each storage device interface is for accessing storage equipment；

The first coffret for accessing the switching card of backboard is connected with the storage device interface of the backboard, the exchange First coffret of card is connect by the storage device interface of the backboard with the storage equipment.

4. system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which is characterized in that if the storage system includes at least two Processor, then the quantity of the switching card of at least partly processor connection at least two processor is identical, and at one The switching card sharing storage equipment that the switching card of reason device connection is connect with another processor.

5. system according to claim 4, which is characterized in that the first coffret of the different types of switching card Quantity is different.

6. system according to claim 5, which is characterized in that if the storage system includes at least two switching cards, institute It states and is connected between any two switching card at least two switching cards by connecting line.

7. a kind of switching card, which is characterized in that the switching card include at least one first coffret and at least one second Coffret, the first coffret of each of described switching card is for connecting storage equipment；Each of described switching card second passes Defeated interface is connect by connecting line with processor, wherein the processor with the storage equipment for carrying out data transmission.

8. switching card according to claim 7, which is characterized in that the switching card passes through connecting line and another switching card Connection.

9. a kind of processor, which is characterized in that the processor includes coffret, and the processor with the transmission by connecing The matched connecting line of mouth is connect with switching card, and the processor is carried out data transmission by the switching card and storage equipment, In, the switching card is connected with the storage equipment.